Chapter 691 - 690: A Sword Against a Dragon

Chapter 691: Chapter 690: A Sword Against a Dragon

While the fighting between Noah’s creatures and God’s warriors continued, the rest of the battlefield had become just as chaotic.

The six S-rankers who had accompanied the expedition were supposed to represent the greatest fighting strength against demons that Ashenveil could muster outside the Church. Yet most of them had already been forced to concentrate their efforts on a single opponent.

Bolas.

Thalric’s orders had been clear. The dragon was too dangerous to leave unchecked, and with so few people capable of surviving a direct confrontation against him, the S-rankers had little choice but to cooperate.

But even if Thalric had wanted to leave the dragon to the others, Bolas had no intention of allowing him to do so.

The dragon hadn’t called him by name, nor had he made any declaration about seeking vengeance. Yet the moment the two sides began fighting, there was no mistaking who Bolas intended to kill.

His enormous body made flying through the forest difficult, especially with the trees limiting how freely he could spread his wings. But Bolas had no need to take to the skies to make use of the power he had gained from his evolution.

His jaws opened, and a torrent of flames erupted directly toward Thalric.

The S-rankers barely had time to register the unusual coloration of the dragon’s fire before two of the nobles reacted. Both belonged to families that specialized in fire magic, and their experience allowed them to respond almost instinctively, conjuring their own flames before combining them into a single concentrated attack.

Unlike the enormous torrent Bolas had unleashed, their flames were considerably narrower, aimed directly at the center of the approaching fire. The two attacks collided, and the concentrated force of the nobles’ magic began pushing against the dragon’s flames, dispersing the fire spreading outward from the point of impact.

For an instant, their strategy appeared to be working. Rather than attempting to match the sheer size of Bolas’s attack, they focused their mana on forcing its center backward, allowing the surrounding flames to disperse as they continued pressing forward.

If they could maintain that advantage, they might even be able to drive the dragon’s own attack back toward him.

"Stop your attack!" Thalric suddenly roared. "Clerics! Priests! We need a shield! Now!"

The sudden order caught everyone off guard. Neither noble understood why Thalric would demand they stop when their magic appeared to be holding, and the Church members were equally confused by the urgency in his voice.

But by the time they realized what he had noticed, it was already too late.

Their flames were being devoured.

The fire Bolas had unleashed wasn’t ordinary dragonfire. His evolution had infused his flames with miasma, granting them the ability to consume the mana within whatever they came into contact with. And the two nobles had unknowingly provided him with an enormous amount of it.

As their combined attack began disappearing, Bolas’s flames grew even more violent. The mana they consumed was being added to their own strength, turning what should’ve been an attempt to stop the dragon into something that made his attack considerably more dangerous.

If those flames reached the S-rankers now, the battle could end before it had truly begun.

The Church members hurriedly began their prayers, calling upon their holy energy to form a barrier between the approaching flames and those standing behind it. Even the clergy sheltered within their dimensional barrier joined them, lending their prayers to reinforce the protection being raised.

And fortunately, they weren’t relying on their prayers alone.

The heavy rain falling across the battlefield had already been infused with holy energy. As Bolas’s flames tore through the rain, portions of their miasma were continuously purified, weakening the attack before it could reach the newly formed defenses.

Without that interference, even the combined efforts of the Church might not have been enough to save them.

But Thalric could tell at a glance that the barrier still wouldn’t hold against the full force of the flames.

He moved before the others could react, forcing his way beyond the protection they had only just managed to erect.

The aura surrounding him changed almost immediately.

An overwhelming sharpness spread from his body, so intense that those nearby could almost feel it cutting against their skin. His sword rose above his head as the mana surrounding its blade compressed, gathering into an edge that seemed far too thin to contain the power being poured into it.

Then Thalric roared and brought his sword down.

For an instant, the space in front of him appeared to split.

A pale, almost translucent blade of energy emerged from his swing. It possessed none of the wild turbulence normally associated with an attack of that magnitude. Its edges were unnaturally straight, with the surrounding air seeming to separate wherever it passed, as though the sword itself had been extended far beyond the limits of its physical form.

It was Thalric’s sword intent given substance.

The manifested blade struck the oncoming flames and cut straight through their center.

Rather than attempting to overpower Bolas’s fire, the attack divided it, forcing the enormous torrent apart as the two halves rushed past Thalric on either side. The flames continued toward the barriers behind him, but their force had been separated, preventing the entirety of the attack from striking a single point.

And the blade didn’t stop there.

It continued through the opening it had created, heading directly toward Bolas’s face.

The dragon immediately recognized the danger. There was something about the approaching blade that made him unwilling to meet it with his scales alone, and with the attack already closing in, he had little time to consider another response.

Bolas cut off his flames and brought one of his enormous wings forward.

It was a decision he would’ve hesitated to make under almost any other circumstances. He had only recently regained the ability to spread true draconic wings, and they were among the most precious things his evolution had given him.

But protecting his head took priority.

The manifested blade struck the wing with enough force to drive through its defenses, carving a deep wound across its outer surface before the remaining energy finally dispersed.

Bolas had stopped the attack from reaching his face.

But the damage left across his newly acquired wing was considerable.

The energy almost fully penetrated through his wing. If that blade was larger, the damage done would’ve been severe.

Yet it was enough to send Bolas over the edge. Bolas had already proven Noah right to worry about losing his head in the fight instead of anyone else.

Both Dummy and Baka had barely approached the battle, and before they could, Bolas sent them away.

The dragon didn’t want anyone in the way as he went wild.

—

Meanwhile, Roland Ignivar had taken responsibility for confronting Morvyr.

The youngest remaining son of House Ignivar had entered the battle under his father’s orders, tasked with preventing the demon from interfering while the others dealt with Bolas.

Whether Roland could actually accomplish that was another matter, but his willingness to confront Morvyr had at least given the human army an opportunity to advance without immediately being threatened by the demon’s abilities.

And the rest of the soldiers had no intention of wasting it.

Rather than allowing themselves to become caught between battles involving creatures far beyond their strength, the human forces began spreading around the larger confrontations.

Their commanders directed them toward the remaining monsters, deliberately leaving enough distance between themselves and the S-rankers to avoid being caught in their exchanges.

They had come to subjugate Noah’s creatures, after all. Defeating the dragon and the demon might’ve been essential to their victory, but there was still an entire army of monsters standing between them and the forest they intended to reclaim.

Surprisingly, or perhaps unsurprisingly, Morvyr’s troops showed no hesitation in answering their advance.

The demonic elves under his command were quick to take control of the situation, directing the monsters accompanying them into formations as the human soldiers began spreading across the battlefield. They had little reason to involve themselves in Morvyr’s personal confrontation when there were so many other enemies approaching.

Unfortunately for the goblins and trolls, that meant they were the first to be sent forward.

The goblin chieftain and his warriors were ordered to the front of the advancing forces, where they would have to meet the human army before the others joined the fight. It was hardly an enviable position, especially since the monsters here made up the majority of the forces at their base.

But the goblins and trolls had been brought here to fight, and the demonic elves had no intention of allowing them to remain safely behind the others.

That left those that Noah had left to stay to defend their home.

But nothing ever truly went according to plan.

Many of the creatures Noah had left behind genuinely wanted to protect their home. So much so that remaining idle while everyone else fought was becoming increasingly difficult. They could hear the fighting in the distance, knowing that their companions were risking their lives while they waited for an enemy that might never reach them.

And it was at that moment that Bolas unknowingly gave them the opportunity they had been waiting for.